What to Do When Facing Difficulties? See How Ancient People Used Qimen Dunjia to Break Deadlocks in Ingenious Ways

Speaking of the art of Qi Men Dun Jia, its origins are truly remarkable. The ancients said, "The River gave forth the Map, and the Luo gave forth the Book, which the sages followed." The wisdom of our ancestors was all derived from the laws of heaven and earth. Legend has it that when the Yellow Emperor was fighting against Chiyou, he couldn't win after a long battle. While he was squatting on a hillside scratching his head, a colorful phoenix flew down from the sky, holding a book in its beak, and dropped it right in front of him with a "plop".

The Yellow Emperor picked it up and flipped through it—oh, wasn't this a ready-made strategy for victory! He deduced and deployed formations according to the methods in the book, straightening out the originally chaotic battlefield rhythm completely, and finally defeated Chiyou outright. This is the earliest origin of Qi Men Dun Jia; from its very birth, it was meant to solve practical problems.

Later, this art was passed down from generation to generation. When it reached Jiang Ziya, after finishing his studies at Kunlun Mountain, the old master thought the original version of 1,080 formations was too verbose. He took an axe and whittled it down, simplifying it to 72 formations. With this set of skills, he assisted King Wu of Zhou, overthrew the Shang Dynasty, and established the 800-year foundation of the Zhou Dynasty. Later, it was passed down to Zhang Liang. The old man Huangshi blocked him on a bridge at midnight, and after several tests, handed him the book. Zhang Liang took it home and trimmed it again, reducing it to 18 formations. With these 18 formations, he helped Liu Bang conquer the Han Dynasty, then retired after achieving success and was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Liu—truly the pinnacle of career success.

If we talk about who took Qi Men Dun Jia to the next level, it has to be Zhuge Liang. During the Battle of Red Cliffs, the people of Eastern Wu were worried every day: where would the southeast wind come from in the middle of winter? Zhuge Liang, however, remained calm. He built a platform, stood on it, counted the days with his fingers, and "borrowed" the east wind just like that. Then there was the "Borrowing Arrows with Straw Boats"—he had long calculated that there would be fog on the river that day, so he took Lu Su to wander in front of the Cao army's camp, and got 100,000 arrows for free, making Zhou Yu so angry that he slammed his hand on the table.

The most amazing part was the Eight Formation Diagram at Yufupu. When Liu Bei retreated after a defeat, Lu Xun led 100,000 troops in pursuit. Chasing and chasing, they charged into the stone formation that Zhuge Liang had set up in advance. Goodness, as soon as they entered, they were completely confused. It clearly looked like a straight road, but they ended up circling back. All they could hear was the sound of wind and battle cries, and the 100,000-strong army was stuck in the pile of stones, unable to find their way out. If it hadn't been for Zhuge Liang's father-in-law Huang Chengyan, who was kind enough to show them the way, Lu Xun might have had to spend the New Year there.

Some people might ask, is this thing really that magical? To put it simply, Qi Men Dun Jia is a methodology that teaches people how to see the situation clearly. It integrates astronomy, geography, and human affairs into various formations, telling you when to advance, when to retreat, which path to take, and which one is a trap.

Modern people always like to complain about bad luck and wonder how to adjust it. In fact, our ancestors already gave the answer—don't wait for luck to fall on your head, but take the initiative to observe the laws and go with the flow. Just like Zhuge Liang borrowing the east wind: it's not that he could really command the wind and rain, but that he understood astronomy, knew when the weather would change, and made preparations in advance.

So, what should you do when you encounter difficulties? Don't rush to lie flat, and don't rush around blindly. Learn from the way of thinking of the ancients: break down the situation, see clearly where the gate of life is and where the gate of death is, choose the right direction before putting in effort—it's always better than working hard with your eyes closed. Qi Men Dun Jia has been passed down for thousands of years, and what it has always passed down is not some mysterious trick, but great wisdom that allows you to stand firm even in chaotic situations.